This New VR Game Has You Question EVERYTHING – And You’ll Love It!

In Mannequin, your next step could be your last. Survival depends on blending in, or on spotting whoever is blending in. Chary and I played both sides of this 2v3 asymmetrical multiplayer game for Meta Quest: elite Agents with alien-detection tech, and shape-shifting Mannequins who freeze as human statues and wait to strike. Here’s our Mannequin VR gameplay, how it works and the tips we picked up. Fast Travel Games sponsored this video. That pays for our time, not for our opinions.

What Mannequin is

It’s a game of cat and mouse where the line between hunter and hunted blurs. On one team, Agents carry gear like EMF readers and EMP guns to find the aliens. On the other, Mannequins are shape-shifting aliens who disguise themselves as human statues, ready to cause chaos and keep the Agents guessing. Every round is a race against time, and teamwork is essential. The adrenaline rush is real.

When we made this video, Mannequin was in early access on App Lab for Meta Quest 2, 3 and Pro at $19.99, and it was coming out later in 2024 for Meta Quest and for PC VR on Steam.

Our Mannequin VR gameplay: both sides

We played five rounds: first as the Agents, ruthlessly hunting with our tech, then as the Mannequins, and then a mix of both. On the Mannequin side it’s time to use your supernatural abilities and strike a pose to blend in. ## The story and the maps

Earth has been peppered with massive alien crystals that froze time, and the humans around them, which set off a crisis. As special Agents with the latest tech, or as cunning Mannequins that can mimic human forms, players investigate this dangerous new world of deception.

During its open alpha, Mannequin had only two maps. In early access it has four, plus a bunch of improvements that make every round better. I’ve tested it in different phases, and it’s been great to see how much it has improved.

Tips and tricks

• Energy Extractors. Every map has three. You don’t need them to win, but Mannequins can drain one to get speed boosts. Drain two and they get shields. If they fail within three minutes, the Agents can see Mannequins through walls, which flips the advantage.
• Gauss Detector. Agents can throw one each round to reveal any posing Mannequins in a small area. You only get one, so use it wisely.
• Your gun. It holds six shots per reload. A miss, or hitting a human instead of a Mannequin, jams it for a bit.
• Reviving. If a teammate gets shot, you get a short time window to revive them, once.

Every decision has to be calculated, and that tension and challenge is exactly what makes it so enjoyable.

Is Mannequin worth playing?

Mannequin is one of fourteen games from Fast Travel Games, and every time I play one of theirs I’m impressed by how creative and different the gameplay is. Mannequin keeps that streak going. You can jump in any time with friends for some intense fun, and you’ll want to spend plenty of time mastering it. The developers planned a full launch for late 2024, with a roadmap of updates leading up to it. So which one are you: a stealthy Mannequin or a daring Agent?